# Can I run Gemma 3 12B on Apple M5 (16GB)?

Updated: 2026-06-15

**Yes, it runs.** Runs at Q4_K_M using ~8.9 GB of ~10.5 GB usable.

- Model: 12B, Q4_K_M 7.3 GB
- Device: 16 GB unified, ~10.5 GB usable for weights
- Needs ~8.9 GB at Q4_K_M; recommended quant: Q4_K_M
- Best tool on macOS: LM Studio
- Command: `ollama run gemma3:12b`

Estimate. Method: weights + KV cache + ~0.8GB overhead. Sources: https://ollama.com/library/gemma3, https://ollama.com/library/gemma3/tags, https://huggingface.co/bartowski/google_gemma-3-12b-it-GGUF, https://lmarena.ai/leaderboard.

More: https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/apple-m5-16gb